I know that I have a winning recipe when my husband takes the food on his own, eats it, proclaims it good and goes back for more.
You see, my husband has not been a plant-eater for that long – only a few years. He still likes the more traditional and meatier-type things where I will go for the more vegetable heavy food. So when it comes to chili we part ways. However, I want him to eat more beans so I make the chili his way and then add more to it. Rick does not like tomatoes in his chili. When I mentioned this to Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo, his comment was “smart man”. No comment from me on this but I make Rick vegan chili that he will eat.
This time I had a lot of already cooked kidney beans and some cooked black beans to work with. The chili took only 3 minutes to cook and was quite tasty. The spices are what make it work so feel free to adjust them to your taste. I make it for a mild to medium palate. If you like things hot, you know what to do.
If you are me, you will add some diced regular or fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste and then top it with a lot of cilantro and/or avocado.
If you are Rick, you are going to see what kind of vegan cheese is around and sprinkle that on top. (Some habits stick with you.)
I hope that you enjoy this even with the not so pretty photo.

The Simplest and Tastiest Instant Pot Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 to ½ package Tofurky ground beef style
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder
- 1 to 2 teaspoons chili spice blend of cumin, chili powder, oregano or any blend like this
- Pinch of cayenne optional
- ½ cup vegetable broth or water
- 1 cup cooked kidney beans
- 1 cup cooked black beans
Instructions
- Add the onion to the pressure cooker set on saute or over medium heat. Saute for a minute or two.
- Add the garlic and saute one more minute.
- Add the Tofurky and chili powder and chili spice and stir well.
- Turn off saute and add the liquid to the recipe. Add the beans.
- Lock on the lid and set the pot to high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When time is up you can let it do a natural release or do a quick release. Either way the dish is fully cooked.
- Adjust seasonings as you like.
My absolute favorite is your Holy Mole Black Bean Soup or I refer to it as Chocolate Chili. I served it one Christmas with a chocolate cake & it went over well to all my guest, So simple to put all the ingredients into an Instantapot & walk away. Thanks for all your tips.
Thanks for sharing Pat. Happy to hear that you and your guests enjoyed the Holy Mole Black Bean Soup. You can call it whatever you like, as long as it goes along with delicious.
I am new to the instant and the vegan world. My daughter started this all and I am glad she did. I was looking for something quick and easy because I had a meeting to attend. I made the chili and said I would have some when I returned after the meeting. Didn’t happen the the pot was bear and my daughter had eaten all the chili and none was left. That was wonderful she said when are you going to make it agai. I said soon but am not telling them until after it is done. Big hit.
Thank you for sharing Dana. That is wonderful. Keep on enjoying your journey.